It Just Takes Steel
by Twitchy Lee
Summary: A little fun I'm having. OC character I'm trying out. Her adventures in Republic city.
1. You Got Knocked Out

Chapter One: You got knocked the….OUT!

If little orphan Annie were a fire bender, she would probably be Flint. Red hair tamed by braids sticking everywhere and freckles lining her nose and arms like connect the dots. Instead of singing and trying to get adopted by a millionaire, she would be covering herself with mud.

"I am gonna eacha! Eacha all up!" She raised her skinny arms above her head and snarled.

The boy in the green tunic reacted quickly. He sent a nice size piece of earth flying her way, knocking her over with an audible _thunk!_

Flint gently touched her bottom tooth. It had already fallen out a long time ago so she was kind mad it was loose again. She sat up, wiped some mud from her eyes before pointing an accusing finger at the boy. "You made my tooth wiggle again. We are having barbequed Bolin!"

Bolin ran towards a taller somewhat morose looking kid in need of a haircut. He used him as a shield between the muddy girl and himself. "Mako, I didn't mean it. She came out like: UGGHH!" He pulled the bottom of his eyelids down and stuck out his tongue.

Mako lazily turned towards Flint, who had regained her feet and was stomping their way. Clinched in her fist was a broken tooth. Her mouth started to hurt and the blood only made it harder to talk. She readied herself by igniting the tips of her middle and index finger with orange flames. They struggled to stay lit. "Move outta the way!"

"No," Mako said laconically.

This wasn't what she expected. The orphanage was a mixture of benders and nonbenders. She had assumed the glum older kid was a nonbender who she could easily scare. Flint checked his eyes. They were a reddish amber. Still, though, that could just mean his origins are among the fire nation like her own. Even if he were a nonbender, the fire nation's fiery nature was ever present.

"It aint worth it," she tried again. The movement of her mouth made a sharp pain in her lower jaw.

He pushed Bolin further behind him. A crowd of children had silently started circling around Flint and her opponent. Bolin melted in with the crowd soudlessly. The other orphans wouldn't let either of them back down now, so Flint made the first attack. She shot two small flaming pellets towards his eyes.

He batted them away like flies.

The kids snickered.

She tried another attack; she shot a thin stream of flame towards Mako with all her effort. Before it sizzled his red scarf, he expertly redirected it back towards her . Flint didn't know how fast benders could be. If not for the mud, she would be one flaming piece of fabric. She found herself on her back again, looking up at the laughing faces of all the other orphans. Before she closed her eyes, she saw the reddish amber eyes coupled with bright green ones.


	2. Kindle

Chapter Two: Kindling here and a little there

"Air Benders don't exist! They went extinct when the Fire Nation was being a giant Butt-head! Learn your history!" Flint crossed her arms with a final _humph_. The poor nonbending boy could only scratch his head at her history lesson.

"Flint!"

She did a quick 180 and tried to ignore the heavy footsteps. The earth under her feet shifted and she ended up tripping over a small hump in the ground. It had been approximately three weeks since her run-in with the brothers. Flint made it her daily mission to avoid them with all the stealth of a roach.

Her tooth wasn't growing back this time the local, kind of sketchy, dentist had informed her. Along with that bad news, the dentist pulled out some giant pliers. The tooth only broke, so he had to pull the root out or it might get infected. At the time, she would have taken the infection. It was the longest hour in her short life.

But, here she was. Once again her face was being abused by the Earth bender. With all the speed of a tranquilized sloth, she rolled onto her back. Bolin was looking down at her apologetically. The hand he offered was tempting, but her pride wouldn't let her take it. "Thanks, but no thanks." She didn't exactly swat it away, but kind of gave him a weak high five.

"Flint. I have been trying to say sorry this WHOLE time." He was wide eyed and excited. The emphasis on "whole" made her look at him warily.

"Okay. You said it. Bye." The conversation was over. There was nothing more to say at this point. After bye, people stop stalking and go their separate ways.

Not Bolin. "Mako is sorry too. He thought you would dissolve the flame. If you can call that a flame," he laughed while nudging her like it was the best joke in the world. They weren't friends and she didn't like how comfortable he was acting around her.

She shrugged, "I didn't want to hurt him. You though…" she pulled down her bottom lip and revealed the gap where her adult tooth used to be. She was also missing some other baby teeth so her grill looked all messed up.

He studied the area with his eyebrows knitted together. "It will grow back. Mine did." He too pulled down his lip to reveal a nub of a tooth coming in.

Flint smiled at how silly he looked. His eyes went all crossed and he opened his mouth wide like a platypus bear. "Nope, buddy. That tooth was the last of 'em. No more in storage."

Whatever happened between them mutually dissolved after her smile. A genuine curiosity and excitement led them into play. Kids are usually like that when it comes to forgiveness. A little laugh can mend a shaky friendship or rekindle one. They can instantly forget of the hurt and zone in on the pleasant. Bolin and Flint didn't immediately become besties, but their friendship grew over the next few months.

However, there are some scars too deep a smile can't heal. Flint never looked Mako in the eyes when they were around each other. If they found themselves without Bolin as a barrier, Flint would be the first to leave without a word. Truth was Mako still scared her. He had deflected her attacks like they were no more than pesky gnats.

Lucky for her she wouldn't have to see Mako any longer. She was being adopted.


	3. I'm Adopted

Chapter 3: I'm adopted

Adopted.

Adopted.

Adopted.

Third time is the charm when you are talking to a wailing Bolin. "Bolin, I'mma try to come back and see you. We gotta figure out how to make magma remember?" she patted his shoulder as he dragged a soggy arm over his eyes.

"We can't make…make…magma-AGH!" He broke down into another crying fit. Runny nose, runny eyes, runny mouth; it was all too much for her.

"Bolin," she held him tightly. "Don't cry anymore. I'mma start crying too." True enough, her eyes started to hurt.

She was leaving tomorrow. She should have told him the day of in order to avoid this. Somehow in her mind that didn't feel quite right. Bolin deserved to know ahead of time because he was her rock, now. They were Buddies 'till the end, Bolin had said during one of their adventures.

"Flint?" The sniffling had subsided into dry heaves.

"Yeah?"

"You suck as a bender," before she could sock him in the arm, he added, "but you get better so we can make magma."

She finally cried. It was confirmation they would still be friends.

The next day was filled with a grim happiness. Adoption was the fair dream of most of the children in the orphanage. Bolin still walked around with his head low though he was happy Flint was getting a family.

Flint packed her little purse with all her belongings. Among them was a pair of socks, a dress, some ribbons for her hair and a tiny stone in the shape of an egg. Bolin made the stone when he was practicing—rather-showing off his bending. His bending became a hazard to her face, so she usually hit behind something. One day, Bolin convinced her to watch his display

She said her goodbyes to the other kids and the Head Mistress. Bolin gave her a long hug. Before she detached herself from her weeping friend, Mako nodded to her.

The family that adopted her were nonbenders with water nation origins. Linna, her adoptive mother, and Rata, her adoptive father, were just as warm and welcoming as when they visited the orphanage. They had talked to her for a long time about her time at the orphanage, her interest, and her fire bending. Of course she had embellished the stories of her skills, but Linna and Rata had already fallen in love with her boisterous personality. They went through the paperwork without a second thought. Now, Flint was theirs.

"Flabiana, you want anymore stewed sea prunes?" Linna's cooking smelled wonderful.

She winced at her name. It had been years since she has heard the dreaded syllables. If she knew her mother and father, she would scold them for giving her such an ugly name. No one can say that name without sounding silly. Try it.

"Thank you, Linna. Could you call me Flint instead of….Flabiana?"

Linna dumped some more prunes on her plate. "If you call me Mom."


	4. Give us Our Rights

Chapter 4: Give us our rights!

She was 17 when the raid finally came down on them. Linna and Rata had been turned in by a so-called ally Earth bender.

The metal benders didn't waste time after they broke down the frail wooden door. Before Rata and Linna were fully awake, their wrists were securely tied by the metal cords. Another pair of cords secured their ankles so the couple wouldn't go anywhere. Both wiggled from the bed and rolled onto the floor like worms. Flint could hear the commotion from her slumber. When she finally realized where it was coming from, she ran towards her parent's room.

Her bending hadn't improved much since the orphanage, but she was learning chi blocking from a group of underground nonbenders with a grudge against the government. Automatically she grabbed the arm of the nearest metal bender, hitting the pressure points with precision. His arm went limp. The other three sent their cords her way. She was able to dodge the first two cords, but the third caught her around the leg.

The woman yanked it, taking Flint down. Thinking fast, she whipped her leg around, making the officer stumble. The distraction was long enough for her to get back on her feet. One of the guys reached out to grab her. She struck his palm in three places. Flint should have paid more attention to the master chi blockers. It was too late for her to attack again because the officer gripped her wrist, bent it back painfully, and brought her to her knees.

She was distracted and didn't notice his partner bend the cord around both of her legs. Flint hit the ground hard when he pulled her ankles. There was no time for any fancy maneuvers because they tied her wrist as well. Linna and Rata smiled solemnly at her before they were yanked to their feet. Though their mouth's were taped, Linna and Rata made no sound. Seeing their heads held high made that scream in the back of her throat claw its way out.

Flint was put in a separate car from her parents.

From the relatively smooth ride, she guessed they were deep within Republic City. Though she lived on the edge of this loud industrialized hub, she never had traveled more than a couple of miles in. Now, she thought grimly, she was going to see a whole lot less of it.

Her parents weren't going to be let off easily. For the past five years Linna and Rata had been harboring antigovernment benders and nonbenders in the barn. It started with small meeting in their living room and moved to larger ones within the bowels of the city. Flint's house became a pseudo hotel for those trying to end the tyranny of the benders. People were always coming in and out, making fliers, practicing chi blocking or other fighting techniques and talking. Leaders were always talking about how benders had used their bending to frighten and control.

During her childhood, Flint usually hid in her room until the talk went away. She was quite sure Linna and Rata didn't think all benders were bullies because they adopted her, but the others might hate her. It wasn't until another girl her age with Earth bending origins stumbled into her room. The girl's eyes were a dark brown. In the dark they looked pupil-less. Flint hid under her covers and acted like she didn't exist.

"I saw you," the girl didn't hesitate to jump on her bed, landing on Flint's stomach.

"Ouch! Get off!" Flint pushed her on the floor. "Get out of my room!" She yelled this from under her blankets so it lost the effect she had wanted.

"Sorry. I thought you wanted to play since you are skipping practice." The girl got up to leave.

"Practice what?" A small, curious voice asked. A pair of light amber eyes peeked from the bed.

The girl smiled triumphantly. "Chi blocking! All the other kids are taking it. The masters are upset right now, though, because we aren't listening. They are so boring!" She sagged her shoulders dramatically.

The covers hit the ground. Flint finally got a good look at the girl. She was tall for her age, slim with brunette hair that fell a little past her shoulders. The ends curled slightly and that made Flint a little jealous because her own hair never looked so pretty.

"I'm coming."

"What's your name?"

"Flint. You?"

"Blair."

Flint hit the back of her head against her temporary metal prison in frustration. At that moment, they stopped.

Incarceration.


	5. GOING

Chapter 5: Going on a trip

"Can you at least warm it up for me?"

"No."

"Please. I'mma be a good prisoner if you do."

"No."

"Come ON, officer."

"No."

Flint never won with Grumpy. He was too old to go out into the field and too young to retire, he told her. So he stayed guarding dangerous prisoners. In reality it was the opposite. He guarded prisoners with secure enough cells that a guard was redundant. Old Grumpy would sit on a too tiny stool and sleep while Flint listened to his snoring. It would have been pleasant if it weren't for the cold food the cook brought every morning noon and night.

The steady breathing of Grumpy told her he was just gone enough for her to warm up her meal. Her mediocre bending was good for something. She produced a diminutive flame on the tip of her index finger and let it heat the bottom of her tray. The oatmeal (she thought it was oat meal) warmed little by little. If she had been more cautious, she would have noticed the squeak of the stool when Grumpy relieved it of its burden.

"Firebender…"

It was too late.

Lin's austere presence made Flint feel like she was five. "Now, Flabiana, tell me where you learned chi blocking." The chief folded her hands on the table patiently.

"Well, you see Madame, chief, metal bender Lin…" She paused to cough, "I kind of just picked it up?" Her shoulders rose like her voice.

"Flabiana, we want to protect Republic City from chaos. We want to help all of our citizens feel comfortable and safe. Do you believe everyone is safe when there are chi blockers out there?," Chief Lin gestured to the window where the building rose to meet the sky.

Flint was aware of who 'everyone' was. The benders were probably more scared of the chi blockers than the normal citizens. "With all due respect, your highness, I think some the benders can take their comfort and safety and put it where the sun don't-"

Flint was cut off by the door bursting open. Linna was too quick for the first two officers. Their bending was obstructed before anyone knew what was going on. Rata took out one officer and immediately ran to Flint. "Dad?"

"Flint, I need you to go." She didn't move. "Now Flint!" He pushed her away before the cords shot towards them.

She rolled under the desk. They hadn't put cords around her ankles, but the ones around her wrist were an inconvenience. She didn't have time to break free because she heard Linna yelling for her to go out the window. It had been broken by a rogue metal cord.

One problem though; Lin stood in her way. Flint couldn't begin to describe how hopeless it was. "Misses officer Lin…"

Lin didn't see Rata as he came in from the side, tackling her to the ground. It gave Flint seconds to get through the window. She made it through, but not without some cuts and splinters of glass. She landed painfully on her right shoulder. If not for the flood blossoming on her shirt, she would have stayed there dazed for longer. As it was, she had to run.

She wasn't that far from the ground, but the jump could break her ankles if she landed incorrectly. She decided not to chance it. A dozens of officers were coming up from the left and right. On second thought she could chance it!

Even though she bent her knees, the impact still shocked her. But there was no time to stop and evaluate herself, the officers were already heading down for her. With a final look up, she ran towards the heart of Republic city.


	6. So Fresh And Clean

Chapter 6: NEW Look

The fliers for her capture were hideous. Snatching one from the nearest pole, she frowned. The picture emphasized certain features to the extreme. For example, they made the freckles on her face huge dots, her red hair looked like the flames of an angry mop, and they got the missing bottom tooth wrong. Well, she concluded, it was time for a make-over of sorts.

It had been a total of three days since her escape. An elderly man with a lazy eye had allowed her to wash up in the back of his ink shop. Luckily for her, he had a son who was a water bender. Her cuts were mended for the most part and her shoulder only harbored a giant bluish bruise. From the newspapers, Flint gathered that her parents were shipped to a different facility. The location wasn't mentioned. Until she could find out where, Flint was going to remain in Republic City. There were bound to be people who had known Linna and Rata here.

"Flint, one thing at a time." She walked into a shop where a lot of girls were. It was her best guess for a total change of look.

All of their heads turned like they were attached to one string. Flint wanted to back away slowly, but their eyes stung her. She was paralyzed until a small woman came over and touched her dirty cloak. "Dear, you look like you need a hot meal and something to drink."

Flint was in the right place. After her meal, second and third helping and four cups of tea, Flint was given an intense scrubbing. The girls had no mercy! They tugged and pulled, painted and tied, brushed and cut until she was raw. "I…can't….do," the woman trying to comb through her hair was breathing hard. The sweat on her brow glistened like a polished vase. "I don't know what to do." She had been the third woman to try to tame the red wilderness.

Flint slowly raised her hand. Her suggestion hadn't been considered by the lovely ladies bravely tackling her hair, but Flint already knew what she wanted. It should have been done a long time ago.

"Cut it."

The women and girls looked at each other in horror. "Off, Dear? You sure?" The small woman had laid a hand on her shoulder in doubt.

"All of it."

She left the shop without her new cloak hood on. Flint thought she looked different enough from the poster to walk out safely. The women hadn't cut it all off like she asked, but they left her with a boyish cut that was short on the sides and longer towards the middle. Oh the freedom!


	7. Friendly

Chapter 7:

Finding some friends in the city was harder than she had anticipated. Of course an antigovernment group would be hard to get in contact with, but she hadn't imaged the sheer size of Republic City. The variety of people, smells, and sounds was enough for her brain to start smoking. Where was she to begin her search for any allies? While she was pondering her situation, she collided with a tall figure. She was knocked on her butt, but the figure only glided back in a flurry of small breezes.

"I'm sorry young lady," she saw the slim fingers and smiled apologetically. Then her eyes traveled up the arm, over the shoulder and to the face. Her smile faded, and a look of pure confusion settled over her face.

"You gotta arrow on your head."

"Yes I suppose I do have an arrow on my head."

"But only air benders have an arrow on their heads"

He chuckled. "I suppose they do." He helped her up. "What is your name young lady?"

Flint snapped out of her astonishment to answer his question. "I'm Flint. Flint Rush…ingburger?" Even she had to question that name.

He seemed to buy it or at least pretended to. "I'm Tenzin, representative of the Air Nomads on the United Republic council. Very nice to meet you Flint. That is a rather interesting name." They shook hands formally.

"You are a rather interesting fellah! Well look at the time," she looked at the skin on her left wrist, "I better be off. Things to do. People to meet. Boys to chase!" She all but ran from him.

That was a close one. He was a government official and surely had seen the posters. Even if he was an air bender and they were the zen'ed out Monks, Flint still wanted to put as much distance as she could between them. She was gleefully squealing on the inside, though, because she had met an air bender. They weren't extinct after all.

She turned into a gloomy alley littered with the shadows of deceit!

She made it out on the other side perfectly fine.

It wasn't until a pebble was in her path did she find ill fate. She stumbled causing her coin purse from the women of the shop to fall out of her cloak. Two seconds later, a dingy looking man had snatched it up. "Hey!" Her call was lost as he sped through the crowd.

"Slimey no-good," she started for him. He was fast despite how frail he looked. It was when she was gaining on him, did she regret following him. He shot baseball size flames towards her and she had to jump to the side to get out of the way. People screamed.

Suddenly she saw the earth rise up to block the thief. The thief could only turn around and panic. He didn't know who in the crowd had blocked his getaway. The earth moved again, this time molding over his feet and calves to immobilize him. A young man walked up to the thief calmly and displayed his bare palm.

"Give the young lad his purse back."

He shot too streams of flame at the young man, but they were cut off when the wall behind him created shackles for his wrist. The purse fell with a pathetic _clunk_ of three coins.

The young man picked it up, looked through the crowd until he found Flint. She was still sitting on the ground. He smiled hugely with all the pride of a recently crowned prince. His enthusiastic waving reminded her of someone. He continued to wave her over, but she only stared at him with a raised eye brow.

"BOLIN!"

Flint forgot the crowd. Those bright green eyes were just as welcoming as ever. Withou breaking stride she leapt into his arms at full speed. For a full minute, he stood still while she sort of half laughed and cried with relief all over him. Once she had sufficiently wiped eyes and nose partially on his back and her sleeve, she pulled down her bottom lip. With all the make-up caked on her face and the short hair it was a miracle he pushed her off.

Initially he didn't understand, but it didn't take long for him to realize what was missing. "Flint?"


	8. FanGirls!

Chapter 8: Fan-girls!

"Flint? Flint!" He pinched her moist cheeks, touched her hair, prodded at her arms like she was a scientific specimen.

"Enough already," she slapped his hand away.

Then he socked her on the shoulder—the still very bruised shoulder that she had to land on to get out of the way from the thief's attack. "Ouch! What was that for?"

"Sorry." He rubbed the spot he hit. Flint glared, but it didn't faze him. "It's just," he looked at her and smiled, "you never came back to visit us."

There was a long pause before she answered. When he said 'us' she wanted to know why his brother would want to have anything to do with her. Mako was the last person she wanted to be buddies with. "I'm sorry about that. Mom and Dad weren't big on me going back there once we had settled." Linna and Rata liked to keep a low profile.

Linna and Rata made sure they weren't seen in the city often. If they did have to go there, they left Flint with Blair and the other children. The older children were trained well enough to hold off any threat without making a big commotion. The young children obeyed orders without question.

She socked him in the stomach. Does he eat rocks for breakfast, she thought as she shook out her hand. As she looked him over, she noticed how much different he was. They were the same height which surprised her because she had always been taller than him. His built was muscular and study like the earth. He wasn't the plump curly headed kid she had, for the most part, gotten into trouble with.

"Ouch."

"Hey, it wasn't me. It was my fine physique." He wiggled an eyebrow.

Her face remained blank.

"Come on. You have to meet somebody."

Just like that, they were half running half walking through the city hand-in-hand. Flint had to laugh at how familiar his presence felt. It was like old times again. Only this time, their adventures could have serious consequences. Flint planned on telling Bolin everything that has happened since her adoption. A vague fantasy of them rescuing her parents in a storm of Fire and Earth created a warm feeling inside of her.

Every time she saw a poster her heart quickened with the anxiety of Bolin seeing the similarities. He didn't seem to notice or mind that she had sweaty palms. His mood was cheery as he led her through the streets of Republic City. It was very comforting knowing she was with someone who knew their way around this busy place. Nothing stopped long enough for her to really know where she was.

Their destination looked like a warehouse surrounded by girls. In actuality, it was the training area surrounded by girls. These were no normal girls. They were—"Fan-Girls," Bolin whispered as they hid behind another building. Both peeked at the crowd of teary-eyed, screaming, merchandise wielding girls as they waited for the chance at a glance at their star.

Flint cast a bewildered glance at Bolin.

He shrugged. "What can I say? The ladies love me."

One of the girls started looking around wildly. Her nose lifted and she turned in the direction Bolin and Flint would be. "I smell him."

Without time for a get-away, the fan-girls mobbed them. It was a smoothie of tugging, autographing, and vows of marriage. If not for the appearance of some side-bang having guy, Bolin would have been relieved of all his clothing. As it was, he still had the important bits.

Once they were in the training area, Flint asked, "Who was that guy?"

"Tahno, water bender and captain of the White Falls Wolfbats," there was a clear dislike in his voice.

Her interest in him didn't fizzle out even though Bolin seemed to not like him. "Oh. Is he any good?" He must be talking about probending. She had only heard about it through Blair. She was a fan of some new team called the Fire rodent-type-of-animal. Apparently they were moving up quickly in the probending world.

Bolin looked at her, mouth open like she had said something horrendous. Then he went back to normal and replied, "Meh."

She laughed it off and turned to face the one person she hoped Bolin didn't want her to meet. He was tall, but not as morose looking as before. Instead of walking over, he went to the locker to change into his training gear quietly. When he did finally look up, he met her eyes coldly.

"Bolin, no fans in the training area. Even guys."

"HEY!" Both Bolin and Flint exclaimed.


	9. The Great Debate

Chapter 9: The great DEBATE

Then Bolin burst out laughing at how red Flint had gotten. She pushed him away from her. That started a girly windmill slap fest in which Bolin was king. When Flint started half choking with laughter, they stopped to hold their stomachs. When the laughter had finally died down, Flint looked back at Mako a bit embarrassed. Exactly like old times.

He hadn't been paying attention to them. While they had their laugh attack, he had been concentrating on his breathing. He sat on the ground, eyes closed, legs crossed with a calm face. Bolin went to go change, leaving Flint to awkwardly stand and watch Mako as he exhaled and inhaled. "I can feel you staring at me," Mako's voice made her jump.

With that he began his practice. His movements were comparable to a dancer. There was no stutter in his punched or kicks—no hesitation in his breathing. "Where's Korra?" Bolin fell into his routine alongside Mako. His movements were less fluid, but just as strong.

"I don't know. "

"Sorry I'm late! Tenzin was telling me about some escapee and then Naga," the girl stopped to smile at Flint. Then she asked Bolin, "Who's the fan-boy?"

"Korra," he proudly walked her over to Flint, "This is my pal from the orphanage," Mako stopped practicing as his memory finally kicked in, "Flint! Flint this is Korra, Korra this is Flint."

Korra, to Flint, was stunning. Maybe she was bias because her parents were water tribe, but she thought most of them were spectacular. They shook hands and chitchatted a little about how she and Bolin met. The conversation was friendly until Korra mentioned how she was the Avatar like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Avatar?" Not knowing Korra was the avatar must have been rare because everyone turned to look at her surprised.

"Yeah, is there a problem?" Korra put her hands on her hips.

"No, no, no. It's just, I though the Avatar was, well, more menacing. The way most people talk about the Avatar, I had this image of an austere woman with a rock in one hand, flame in other, riding on the wind followed by a tsunami." She shrugged, put on a goofy smile and hoped the avatar didn't take her that seriously.

It worked, Bolin, Korra and even Mako seemed amused by her imagination. "Who have you been talking to? Equalist?" Bolin slapped his knee like that was the most ridiculous thing in the world.

"What is a Equalist?" The name on her tongue felt familiar though she has never heard it. It felt right.

"You have been living under a rock. First you don't know about my reputation then you don't know about Equalist and their plan to take down all benders." Bolin strode over and put his arm around her shoulder and sighed. "You need to get out more."

Flint was already shrugging him off before he could say anything else. How could she had been so naïve to think that the 'Equalist' would keep a low profile. That's how you get support from the population, she thought, you make yourselves public. Lost in thought, she forgot about everyone around her until Bolin poked her side.

"Oh, sorry. I guess you aren't on the…Equalist side?" She added a little laugh at the end to make it seem like a rhetorical question. Really, though, she hoped someone would answer so she knew where they stood. Especially where Bolin stood because his jumping back into her life suddenly has shined a light on her rather glum situation. Also, she wouldn't be able to tell him anything if he was against the Equalist who she called family.

"No. They have a leader who can take away a person's bending forever. He needs to be stopped."

Hearing Mako say those words and have Korra and Bolin agree like it was the most natural action, made her heart sink. Yet, she couldn't stop herself from prying even more into their beliefs so alien to her own. "But, if you were a nonbender, can't you understand their fear? Their concern? Their feelings of…." Flint drifted off towards the earthen plates stacked neatly.

"Yes, but Republic city is a place where benders and nonbenders are suppose to live together in harmony. That is what Avatar Aang wanted. Since I am the avatar, I have an obligation to the people of this city to make sure it stays that way."

Flint looked at her and Mako for a long while before waiting for Bolin to add his own comments. He said nothing, but he had the same determined look on his face. "You don't understand." Her smile was half-hearted.

"What don't we understand? And while you are at it, will you please tell us why you are giving us the impression you are agreeing with the Equalist?" Mako was calm. To Flint, that was more threatening than angry.

The conversation wasn't going in the direction she had planned. Luckily Bolin stepped in to save her from answering. "Can't you see that she is confused?" He rushed over, took her face in his hands and turned it towards Korra and Mako. "See this face?" By now, her lips looked like a fish and her eyes were slits. "This is a face of some poor soul who has been living a life outside of the city. Who knows what she knows about knowing about what everyone knows."

He winked at her before rallying up his team to practice. Flint watched then silently. She would smile or laugh when Bolin obvious showed off for her. Other times she would admire how effortlessly they used their bending. It was beautifully frightening if we want to get poetic.

"Where is the little girl's room?" she was already doing the dance at this point.

Korra raised an eyebrow, "You're a girl?"


	10. The Equalist

Chapter 10: Equalist betrayal

Three days past before she realized she couldn't stay with Mako, Bolin and Korra anymore. The first incident occurred when Flint had run into Tahno and his Wolfbats in the streets. Instead of being the conceited guy everyone pegged him to be, he seemed really nice to her. He even offered for her to join him and his crew for coffee.

"WHAT? With who? Why? Flint, you know he's our main competition! And he's a jerk. How could you betray me? Betray the Fire Ferrets?" His giant puppy eyes could have melted a glacier in Antarctica but Flint only laughed.

"Probending names are weird. You guys are called the Fire Ferrets?"

"That's not the point. You have been fraternizing with the enemy." He folded his arms pointedly.

In her best imitation of a baby voice, Flint said, "Awww, is someone jealous?"After wiggling up to him, she wrapped her arms as far around as she could and squeezed. They would have stayed like that longer if not for Korra coming in, followed by Mako and Tenzin. They pushed away from each other clearing their throats.

The second incident happened when Tenzin recognized her. There was a mutual surprise on both ends before Flint and Tenzin simultaneously pointed at each other while exclaiming, "You!"

Tenzin raised his hand silently before all the questions could be thrown their way. "Another time," he walked over to Flint and nodded. "Miss Flint, it is a pleasure to see you again."

"You too Mr. Tenzin, sir. Still got that arrow on your head I see. Well," she clasped her hands searching her mind for a quick getaway excuse, "I'm going to go out and do stuff you do when you are out. Bye." With that, she left without much more to say.

On her walk through the city, she ran into little to no trouble. Amazingly she got some much needed shopping done. A new study pack and some new trousers made her feel more secure. However her parents were stuck behind bars Spirits knows where, probably believing she has given up on them. They had to remain more important than the safety she felt with Bolin and the Ferrets. She couldn't lose her family even if it meant abandoning Bolin again.

When she returned after a decent amount of time, Mako was waiting for her. The scene would have been comical if not for her wariness of all things Mako. He sat comfortably on the bench, lights low so that he was encased in shadow, and his scarf billowed in the breeze that blew from the window. It was all so serious she took a step backwards when he made eye contact. Those reddish amber eyes made her gulp audibly. "We need to talk."

Four words can make her sweat. "Sure, we haven't really gotten to know each other." Refusing to sit, she stood off to the side.

"How did you end up back in Republic City?"

"My parents are out of town so I'm being a rebel and leaving all my chores behind for some city fun. Bolin happened to save me and here I am."

Mako smirked knowingly. "Where did your parents go?"

"Out of town. So I'm guessing to another town."

"Flint," his voice suddenly turned intimidating, "I know you are the Equalist Lin has been looking for."

A mouse's nibbling was the only sound to cut the silence.

Flint bolted for the stairs, but Mako was quicker, blocking her way before she took three steps. "You used Bolin to get to the Avatar didn't you?" His anger had finally flared to where the sparks on his fingers could have started a flame. Here they were again; Mako protecting his brother from Flint.

"I would never use Bolin."

That seemed to trigger something in Mako. His first two shots were quick, but her training with the Equalist helped her dodge them easy enough. He wasn't going to let her off for long; four more shots came after her in succession. The fourth nipped her shoulder singeing her shirt. She fired back three lame shots, but they did what they were suppose to in distracting Mako long enough for her to get close enough to strike.

But he wasn't going to be that easily overcome. He blocked her punches and kicks well. If she didn't get an advantage, she would tire out before he did. When she went down to sweep his legs from under him, he jumped and took the opportunity grab her arm and twist it behind her. It was painful, but not unbearably so. It was more of a warning to Flint in case she tried anything. "What was your plan? Why did they send you?"

That old fear was coming back and she started to panic. "No one sent me Mako. I'm not who you think I am. Please, just let me go."

"Let her go Mako!" Bolin looked like he hadn't had sleep in a while. It was odd considering he looked fine when she left.

Mako loosed him grip in surprise and that gave her just enough time to slip from his hold and release a multitude of chi blocking shots. Mako's arms went limp and the flames on the ends of his fingers died. Bolin now blocked her way, looking more hurt than anything.

From that point on, things went in slow motion. Mako was telling Bolin to stop Flint, but the words were drowned out as if it were underwater. Flint made eye contact with her Buddy before taking out his left arm with three strikes. He made no move to stop her as he grasped it with his right. She bolted past him without looking back. Looking back meant she would have to face what happened just now.

She lost her only ally in Republic city. Not only would officers be after her, but the one person she can say she truly cared about. "This sucks," Republic City gobbled up her words.

**Author's Note: I might end it here. Part two might come next month. Not sure. Thanks for reading. It has been fun coming up with a character without much of a plan. Thanks!**


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